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Get A Move On

What Sellers Can Do Now That They'll Be Thankful For Later

November 25, 1994|By Pamela Dittmer McKuen. Special to the Tribune.

Yesterday we gave thanks for all the good stuff in our lives. Those involved in the real estate market this past year received an extra dose of bounty-many sellers saw handsome appreciation while buyers continued to find reasonable interest rates.

Along this theme, we asked several industry professionals to answer the question: "What can potential home buyers and sellers do now that they will be thankful for later?"

Their collective wisdom shows it's not too early to get the process underway-even if you're not moving for a year or more. So take heed. You'll be glad you did.

Jump starts for savvy sellers

1. Doll up the interior. This advice was overwhelmingly No. 1 on the experts' lists. Your home should be clean, neat and attractive so that buyers will want to live there. Appraisers, who assign a value to the property, notice these qualities, too.

"I believe in spending as little money as possible," says Carole A. O'Neill of Re/Max Crossroads in Rolling Meadows. "You don't want to eat up your profits. Soap and water is cheap. Clean those walls. Caulk your tub and scrub the mildew off. If you have any peeling paper or wallpaper older than five to seven years, it will be dated. Strip it and paint the walls off-white. Nothing looks better than a new coat of fresh paint. It is also inexpensive."

Your greatest efforts should go to the kitchen and baths, advises appraiser David A. Kunkel of David A. Kunkel & Associates Inc. in Westchester. "Also update any older decorating, like shag carpets and darker colors that were in vogue in the 1960s and 1970s and the early part of the 1980s."

2. Throw stuff away. Or donate it to charity. Give it to your children, or lend it to them until after you move. Pack it and then stack the boxes neatly against one wall of the garage. You did clean out the garage, didn't you?

"Buyers don't want to see your 52 million knick-knacks," O'Neill says. "Remember how new model homes look and emulate them the best you can if you want top dollar for your home."

"Having a clutter-free house is one of the basics of attractiveness," says Dick Post of ERA R.M. Post Realtors in Oak Lawn. "If you can get some of the furniture out of the house or basement, it will show better. We advise a lot of people to rent those mini-warehouses if they have no place to go with the excess."

He also believes homeowners should pare down well in advance of posting a "For Sale" sign. Life with a house on the market is pretty chaotic. "If you have a month or two, you can plan better and not have the added tension of, `Where is everything going?' " he says.

"If there are any exclusions like chandeliers or special pieces you're not selling, take them out," says Connie Uecker of Baird & Warner Real Estate in Chicago. Deals have fallen apart because of haggles over Great Aunt Minnie's antique light fixture.

3. Make sure appliances and systems are in working order. There are two reasons for this. One is that the new disclosure law requires sellers to attest to the condition of their properties. The other is that a stress crack or broken dish washer can ward off buyers, who will wonder what else is wrong with the house.

"Service your furnace, air conditioner and water heater so you know if they are going to go (out) or if they are in bad shape," suggests James A. Marino, a Chicago attorney. "Then in the spring, when you make out the seller's disclosure, you can say in good faith they are in working order."

"Any significant items in need of repair should be taken care of-holes in walls, cracking plaster, broken windows," Kunkel adds.

4. Do you own the house? Don't snicker. Attorney Marino sees two or three cases a year, often involving widows, where the sellers don't have the survivor's rights they think they do.

Transfer of the property to the surviving spouse "is not always automatic," he says. "It depends upon how the title is held. Clients say, `My husband died but I own the house,' and I say, `Let's make sure of that.' It's a little more costly and a lot more time-consuming to learn (you don't own the property) a month before closing."

Buyers can get the ball rolling

1. Gather information. Informed buyers are less likely to make mistakes or meet with surprises. Read real estate ads to learn how much house goes for what amount of money. Talk to real estate brokers and agents to get a feeling for recent prices. And bone up on mortgages, advises attorney Marino.

"Buyers need to be educated," he says. "There are a lot of products out there and a lot of people selling those products. Some are good and some are bad. It's a good idea to study up on ARMS, balloon mortgages, rollovers. There are many flavors out there. Once you've agreed to buy a house you have a week to apply for a mortgage. You have to make a quick decision."